Curtis pounds Vandy to open district play

HOUMA -- Friday night turned into a night of what ifs for the Vandebilt Terriers.

What if the Terriers could have forced an early turnover to gain some momentum?

What if the Terriers didn't give up two big punt returns early that set up short fields?

What if the Terriers would have had senior quarter Adam Haydel for the second half?

The John Curtis Patriots (6-1, 1-0) entered Buddy Marcello Stadium for the District 8-4A opener and left with a 48-16 victory that also left those questions unanswered.

Down 21-0, Haydel was injured after a big run near the end of the first half. He was taken down hard on the John Curtis sideline and courageously ran across field with his arm visibly injured and hanging by his side.

His arm was put in a sling as he left the field to appreciative cheers of both sides on his way to the hospital.

"If his arm isn't broken it'll be a miracle," Vandebilt coach Brad Villavaso said. "It's going to tough losing Adam. He's a great leader and a great motivator. Those things happen in football."

Freshman quarterback Jonathan Guidry filled in admirably for Haydel, but the Terriers (6-2, 0-1) had problems scoring points in the second half.

"I thought our defense played well the entire night," John Curtis coach J.T. Curtis said. "I was a little concerned coming off an off week last week. We had to prepare a little differently."

John Curtis, ranked second in Class 4A, took a 6-0 lead early after a four-play, 79-yard drive ended on a 26-yard run by Kirk Bush. The kick was blocked.

After the Terriers, ranked seventh in Class 4A, were forced to punt, Josh Medley put the Patriots ahead 9-0 on a 37-yard field goal.

At the end of the first quarter, Curtis' Mike Lagrue took a punt 55 yards to the Vandebilt 39.

A screen play caught the Vandebilt defense off guard for 21 yards on a third-and-10 play and two plays later a draw did the same, as Joe Gueldner scored from 14 yards away.

Another punt from Vandebilt followed and so did another big punt return, this one of 40 yards by Bush.

Three plays later, Johnny Theil ran in from six yards to make it 21-0.

"They obviously beat us in the special teams game," Villavaso said. "They did a great job with the punt return. We gave them a short field two or three times, which didn't help. They are a good football team. It's a lot harder to go 80 than 30, but they are an incredible football team. They don't have 18 state championships for nothing."

After Haydel went out, Guidry completed a couple of nice passes and Ryan Cunningham hit a 54-yard field goal that cut the John Curtis halftime lead to 21-3.

John Curtis picked up a key first down early in the third quarter on another draw and got a 3-yard score to go ahead 28-3.

Guidry was then picked off by freshman defensive back Joe McKnight, who played a stellar game on special teams as well, and he took it 61 yards for a score that made it 35-3.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Vandebilt's Patrick Gordon scored on a 15-yard run and the extra point failed.

Lagrue then caught a pass and ran 50 yards to the end zone for a 42-9 John Curtis lead.

The final score of the night came on a 63-yard run by John Curtis' Josh Duplessis on his only carry of the night.

With under 15 seconds to play, Guidry moved the Terries down field and found Chance Brown for a 4-yard touchdown on a fade pattern.

John Curtis held Vandebilt full back Rabun Fox to 72 yards, well below his season average.